Dining out Across Spain : Study

Each resident of Spain typically spends around 800 per year on dining out  equivalent to 67 a month or slightly less than 15.50 a week, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Those from Extremadura spend the most with an average of 982 per person.

The region of Castilla y Leσn came in second place with residents spending 949, followed by Navarra at 943; Galicia at 937 and Cantabria at 935.

Residents of the Canary Islands spend 933 a year on eating out, with those from the Asturias spending 916 per head per year, and those from La Rioja, 901.

Residents of Spain's Mediterranean regions typically spend less, with Murcia seeing an average of just 628 per person being spent each year, with just the North-African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla spending less at 608.

The Balearic Island resident spends an average of 844 per annum on eating out, this is still below Castilla-La Mancha's 846.

And the Catalans spend more than the Valencians at 837 compared to 795, placing the provinces of Valencia, Castellon and Alicante below the national average.

Perhaps surprisingly, Madrilenos only spend 693 a year on eating out, less than the Basques, and those from Aragσn where residents spend 765 a year on eating out.

The INE report based data on the total for 2014 - the most recent data available - and reveals how people in Spain were more inclined to eat out then than in the previous year, where they spent 1.3% less.

Experts believe spending in restaurants will increase throughout Spain by 12% in the coming 4 years.

Even though traditional tourist and expatriate belts seem to show lower spending on dining out, Valencia's below-average annual total shows a typical 15.29 per head every week or 66.25 every month, showing that the region's people eat out either weekly at a budget-to-mid-range restaurant, fortnightly at a mid-upper-range eatery or monthly at a top-flight locale  figures which show much of Spain can still afford to spend money on non-essentials and on free-time entertainment.

However, the report does not take into account how the cost of an average meal in a typical restaurant varies from region to region.